


Welcome back present

by Elizandre



Series: Tropevember! [24]
Category: Naruto
Genre: 30 Days of Writing, Amnesia, Confused Nara Shikamaru, Crushes, Disaster Gay Nara Shikamaru, M/M, Matchmaking, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Pining, Rare Pairings, Tropes, Tropevember, blushing naruto, chouji is a good best friend, tropevember challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:48:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27881002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elizandre/pseuds/Elizandre
Summary: Shikamaru get’s hit with Ino’s quirk during battle and wakes up with amnesia, but his brain is still just as intelligent as before - and apparently it’s decided that Naruto is his boyfriend.(Written for Tropevember 2020, Day 24: Amnesia)
Relationships: Nara Shikamaru/Uzumaki Naruto
Series: Tropevember! [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1995202
Comments: 9
Kudos: 275





	Welcome back present

**Author's Note:**

> Putting this as a completed fic, but I’m thinking about writing more chapters and seeing where it goes... let me know what y’all think! Xoxo
> 
> (Also I spelt Chouji as ‘Choji’ - dont hate me)

Shikamaru wakes up to a pounding headache. There’s a constant beeping noise sounding to his left that’s driving lances of pain into his skull. Peeling open his eyes, he registers that he is in a hospital room, with a blonde girl and a chubby boy sat on either side of him.

The blonde is asleep, her head resting on the bed beside his leg he realises, as he slowly pulls himself up into a seated position. Noticing that their hands are linked together, he frowns and slowly untangles them, careful not to wake her - whoever SHE is.

Turning his head to survey the room, trying to get a better idea od where he is and what happened to him, he jumps slightly when he makes eye-contact with the plump boy, whose chubby cheeks are flushed and full due to his beaming smile.

Opening his mouth, no doubt to say something loud and cheerful that will wake the blonde girl, Shikamaru quickly darts forward and covers his mouth, deliberately eyeing the sleeping woman meaningfully. Thankfully his companion isn’t an idiot and nods carefully in understanding.

Removing his hand, Shikamaru raises his brows in encouragement, gesturing for the other to speak. He doesn’t know who this guy is either, but hopefully he can shed some light on the situation without Shikamaru having to admit that he has no idea whats going on.

Is this a trick, he wonders. Some kind of trap? An enemy ninjustu? He knows it’s not a genjutsu, having already attempted to break it subtly when he’d redirected the boy’s attention to the girl before. He can feel his brain working a mile a minute to categorise all of the information currently available, filing it all away for potential use later.

Damn, he’s tired.

Though... his body doesn’t ache in any way that would suggest he’d been injured enough to wind up in a hospital... unless he’s been in a coma. Hmmm, that would explain the lack of memories and searing pain in his head whenever he tries to remember anything specific. He knows all the basics; who he is, what he does, hell - even how the stupid heart monitor he’s linked up to works! But anything more personal? Like who his friends are, or what he was doing before he ended up in the hospital is just painful, swirling blurs that he’s unable to access.

A memory altering jutsu, perhaps?

Focusing his attention on the boy once more, he realises that he hasn’t said anything, instead watching him analyse the room with a sad, sympathetic smile.

“It was Ino’s jutsu,” the boy finally says with a head nod towards the girl. “Mean’t for an enemy nin, but she was knocked at the last second, changing the trajectory, making it hit you instead—” he pauses, letting out a quiet chuckle. “I can see the surprise on your face, Shika - that’s what you wanted to know, right?” At Shikamaru’s cautious nod he sobers slightly. “You don’t remember me, do you?”

“I... no. I can’t say I do,” Shikamaru hedges. The could still be an enemy nin deceiving him, though something in his guy tells him that’s not the case.

“It’s okay,” the boy says comfortingly, patting his arm lightly, “Ino said that she didn’t know how much damage their would be. She tried to pull the jutsu back when she realised it would hit you, but it was still a pretty lethal jutsu... we knew there would be some damage. I’m Akimichi Choji and— wait... do you know who you are?”

Once again Shikamaru can only nod warily. If this guy is an enemy, giving up his name could spell disaster.

The guy chuckles again, louder this time, with a notable undercurrent of fondness running through it. “You and that big brain of yours,” he mutters, before straightening his spine so he’s sitting tall and sturdy. “Your name is Nara Shikamaru. You are a member of the Nara clan, famous for their shadow jutsus, and a jounen of Konoha.” He states severely, before his lips tilt up warmly. “You are also a genius at Go. You aren’t allowed to play card games because you automatically card count without meaning to. You say your favourite hobby is cloud watching, but it’s actually going out to look after the deer on the Nara grounds... you say they don’t judge you for what you’ve done, like everyone else does. You hate dango, but refuse to tell anyone because you can’t be bothered to argue about it, so you always eat them anyways when we go out... hmm, what else is there?

“Your favourite colour is forest green. You’re pansexual. You think crabs are freaky and generally avoid water when you can— oh! And you read poetry in your spare time, which, not even your dad knows about... am I convincing you yet?” He jokes - and he has, though it’s not his words that have persuaded Shikamaru, but rather, the fondness in his voice and the kindness in his eyes when he talks about him.

... If this guy is a spy, he’s the best damn spy Shikamaru has ever come across... not that he remembers ever meeting any spies... huh. Knowing things without having the memories to back them up is going to take some getting used to. 

“Yeah,” he croaks out, voice raspy from disuse. “Yeah, Choji. You’ve convinced me.”

“Thank god for that! I was worried I’d have to wake up Ino to get her to try and convince you, but her bedside manner is terrible - you’d have totally thought she was an enemy nin!”

“Really...” Shikamaru hums. Another point for Choji knowing him well.

“Yep. Oooh! Now that you’re awake though, I do have one other thing to convince you!”

“Oh? And what’s that?” He asks lazily. He already believes the boy, but he doesn’t see the harm in indulging him.

“Your dad!” He exclaims cheerfully.

“... You know I don’t remember anyone, right Choji? How would meeting my dad change things?”

“Because the two of you look exactly like each other! There’s no denying that you’re related, meaning we’re the good guys!”

Shikamaru can’t help but let out his own chuckle. “You do realise genjutsu’s are a thing, right? Not to mention, I don’t even know what I look like.”

“Oh shit... you don’t even remember that?” At his head shake, Choji gives him another kind smile. “Well that’s easily fixed! I’m sure Ino has one in her bag.” He says, standing up from his seat with a mischievous smile. “Why don’t you wake her up and ask her for it while I go and fetch your dad? Okay? Yeah? Great!” He says, before fleeing the room.

Shikamaru shakes his head, heaving out a sigh. Surely she can’t be that bad...

Lifting his hand up, he gives her shoulder a not so gentle nudge, the girl mumbling blearily and swatting at him, before freezing, her eyes snapping open to stare at him piercingly.

“Hey...” he says, smirking slightly at the line of drool on her chin.

“... Hey? ... HEY?!? Nara Shikamaru, you asshole! You don’t get to HEY me after worrying me half to death for the past 3 days, terrified that I made my best friend braindead!” She screeches, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes.

Shit. He gets why Choji ran now.

“I’m... sorry?” He tries, though he doubts he’s the one that should be apologising right now.

Apparently it’s the right thing to say, however, as it takes the wind right out of her sails, the girl letting out a huff of air as she frowns down at her hands, fidgeting with the cover on his bed. “No, no. You don’t have to be... it was all my fault,” she sniffs again, and shit. Shikamaru is ready to rename Choji an enemy nin after all.

“Shit happens in the field,” he tries again. “Don’t worry about it... Ino.”

Taking note of his hesitance to use her name, her eyes widen once more. “You don’t remember me, do you?” She whispers, stricken. 

“No... I don’t. I’m sorry,” he says, surprising himself when he realises he genuinely is. He doesn’t remember her, but she obviously cared for him a great deal. “Though if it helps, I don’t even remember what I look like,” he jokes. “Choji said you might have a mirror...?”

Sniffling, she pulls herself up with a nod. “Right. Of course I have a mirror - though god knows why you want to see that ugly mug of yours,” she says, trying to match his lighter tone, as she bends down to grab her bag with a determined look.

Give her something to do so that she feels useful, got it, Shikamaru thinks, filing the information away for later.

“Meh... who cares if I’m ugly. Choji says I look like my father - he can’t prove that without me knowing what I look like,” he shrugs. Looks are looks. He doesn’t care if he’s handsome or not.

“Choji is going to get your dad?” She asks as she finishes her rummaging, producing a mirror with a flourish, before holding it out to him.

He hums a confirmation as he takes hold of it, analysing his reflection. He’s not bad looking, he supposes. He has a sharp chin and prominent cheekbones, which stand out. His hair is long and straight, falling past his shoulders - he can only assume he puts it up for missions, long hair being dangerous for a ninja. The rest of him is pretty plain, he thinks... except for his eyes, which are dark and firm, glittering with cool intellect and curiosity.

He likes his eyes, he decides.

“I wonder if Naruto will be coming up with your dad,” Ino ponders, talking more to herself than him, but she still piques his curiosity.

“Whos Naruto?” He asks, but before the girl can answer, the door to the room swings open to admit Choji and a man that admittedly DOES look a lot like him... but he isn’t who catches Shikamaru’s attention. Instead, his eyes slide away from the man, falling to rest on a golden-haired boy standing hesitantly in the doorway with a shy smile that’s contradicted by the way his blue eyes are shining with barely contained excitement - and judging by the way Shikamaru’s chest suddenly feels tight as he develops butterflies in his stomach, he can guess EXACTLY who this is.

He knows his own eyes will be mirroring that same excitement back at the boy. 

Apparently, even a mind-altering jutsu can’t change the way his body reacts to the person he loves... and fuck is he pretty.

After seeing his own plain face, Shikamaru doesn’t know how he scored such a beautiful boyfriend. 6 scars line his cheeks, which are full and bright now that he’s smiling fully, pearly teeth glistening as his entire being seems to light up the room.

Yeah. Shikamaru knows who THIS is.

“Hey, babe,” he drawls, beckoning - Naruto, was it? - forwards confidently.

However, said confidence quickly disappears when the blond’s footsteps falter, eyes widening in surprise as Ino chokes on her own spit beside him.

Turning to quickly catalog the room, Shikamaru sees shock on Ino’s face that matches Naruto’s, a contemplative look on his father’s as he stares at him with a small smirk, and a knowing, sneaky smile on Choji’s face. Obviously the boy knew about his affections for Naruto then, but Shikamaru hadn’t told anyone else - if he even told Choji at all.

Wait. So previous him had feelings THIS STRONG for this Naruto person, and NEVER acted on them?

“Wow. Old me was a coward,” he states, making eye contact with Choji, who nods with a laugh, before turning back to Naruto. “Hi. Apparently I’m hopelessly in love with you and never bothered to do anything about it. It’s nice to meet you,” he says brazenly, because fuck it. If this is one thing he can do for his old self before he regains his memories, then he will - hell, he doesn’t even know if it’s POSSIBLE to get his memories back or not, and if it isn’t, he’s not gonna spend months skirting around the issue like his past self must have been.

Watching a bright red flush travel up Naruto’s neck, across his cheeks, and up to the tips of his ears is totally worth making a fool of himself, however, Naruto’s, “it’s nice to meet you - and I’m hopelessly in love with you too,” makes it even better.

“Good.” He says decisively, holding his hand out for the blond to take, which he does almost reverently. “I don't know when I'm gonna get my memories back, but when I do, this guy had better be damn grateful."

They all chuckle at that, surprised by this new Shikamaru's confidence, used to his past, reserved nature.

"Trust me," Choji giggles. "This is going to be the best 'welcome back' present he could have asked for."


End file.
